Volume 6, Issue 33│August 19, 2022
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Learn, Connect, & Celebrate at the
2022 Annual Meeting in Springfield
We hope you will be able to join us for the 2022 Annual Meeting in Springfield, IL, taking place September 29 - October 2, 2022.
Optometrists can earn up to 18 hours of CE at the Annual Meeting. All courses except the workshops are available tested, so attendees can complete all tested hours in one weekend. Paraoptometrics can earn ten hours of AOA & ABO CE over two days.
Attendees can browse the Exhibit Hall on Saturday and Sunday to explore all the latest in the ophthalmic world. On Saturday night, IOA will host Illinois Optometry's Celebration where attendees can meet and network with colleagues, the 2022 award winners will be recognized, and Howl at the Moon dueling pianos will play into the night.
You will not want to miss this year's Annual Meeting!
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IOA Industry Partner VSP is hosting a special webinar for Illinois ODs on SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Central
Topic: Maximizing the VSP Vision Premier Program
Are you taking full advantage of the Premier Program? Identify gaps and new opportunities in this session as you’ll see from Dr. Winnick’s personal experience key, easy-to-implement, ways to maximize revenue, savings and patient benefits. Learn how to use VSP’s extensive state-of-the-art product portfolio to meet individual patient needs while also creating opportunities to receive more when you choose preferred products. (Hint: Premier Pays More).
VSP is an Industry Partner with the IOA. IOA does not specifically endorse this single product but encourages you to consider if it has a place in your practice.
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Report illegal and unsafe contact lens sales to the FDA & FTC
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2022 Medicare Fee Schedules
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ICO New Student Orientation
Last Friday, Dr. Toseef Hasan & Dr. Michael Russell attended ICO's New Student Orientation where they met with first-year optometry students and discussed the IOA and their future career in optometry. Thank you to Dr. Hasan and Dr. Russell for attending the event!
Pictured left: Dr. Hasan (R) with three ICO first-years.
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New IOA PAC Donors
The IOA Legislative Committee and PAC Board would like to thank the following optometrists for their recent PAC donations:
David Morgret, O.D.
Central Illinois Optometric Society
Amanda Gerson, O.D.
Mid-State Optometric Society
Mark Sblendorio, O.D.
South Suburban Optometric Society
Thank you for supporting IOA PAC!
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In Memoriam: Norman Patterson, O.D.
Dr. Norman Patterson of Frankfort, IL passed away on August 14, 2022, at the age of 89. A US Army veteran, Dr. Patterson graduated from Illinois College of Optometry in 1957 with his twin brother, Dr. Norbert Patterson. He was a well-respected optometrist in Tinley Park for many years and had a reputation for his ability to fit contacts. He was a member of the Tinley Park Lions Club and a 58-year Life member of the IOA/AOA. Dr. Patterson was married to the late Shirley Patterson and they had three children, three grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. A memorial visitation will be held on Saturday, August 27, from 12-3pm, at Vandenberg Funeral Home in Tinley Park.
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Get to Know IOA Board Member: Mark W. Burke, O.D.
What Dr. Burke loves most about his job:
"Freedom to do what’s in my patient's best interest."
Advice for new optometrists?
"Trust your instincts but verify and learn after every unique encounter — never trust an entity that tells you to do something you don’t feel right about."
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Submit a Story to Recognize Your Paraoptometrics
In September, for Paraoptometric Awareness Month, we want to share your stories about your outstanding paraoptometric staff, and why they are shining stars in your office.
Please help us tell your story by sending your stories about paraoptometrics at the link below.
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NOF Discusses Children's Eye Health Month
The National Optometric Foundation held a webinar on Monday, August 15 for Children's Eye Health Month and IOA member Dr. Stephanie Johnson-Brown was a panelist along with Dr. Sherita Brown and moderator Dr. Timothy Brown. The panelists talked about the importance of comprehensive eye exams for children to help with learning in school and the role vision therapy can play in helping a child to learn. Click the video on the left to watch the presentation.
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Personal Attention Focus of Lunettes Family Eyecare (Beverly Review)
When Dr. Karina Langle was looking for a place to open her practice in January 2017, she had a feeling that Mt. Greenwood would be perfect, and given the response of local families to the opening of Lunettes Family Eyecare and Optical Boutique, she was right...
She is a member of the Illinois Optometric Association, the American Optometric Association, and the American Academy of Optometry. Because she believes learning is a lifelong process, she became a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 2011 and a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry in 2014.
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CNBC Names Optometry #2 Best U.S. Job in 2022
An article published in July entitled, "These are 10 best U.S. jobs of 2022, according to new research—many pay over $100,000", names the career of Optometry as the second best job in the U.S.
The article states the profession has seen a growth of 121 percent in the number of Optometric job postings from 2019 – 2022.
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A Memphis Optometrist Who Revolutionized the Field for Infants is Retiring After Decades of Practice (Action News 5)
Dr. Glen Steele is retiring from the Southern College of Optometry (SCO) next Friday after 53 years of working as a faculty member and pediatric vision provider.
His career marks several achievements and milestones in the optometry field.
Steele contributed to the education of over 6,000 optometrists serving in Memphis and across the U.S. He’s also the longest-serving faculty member of SCO history, and likely one of the longest-serving higher ed professors in Memphis, SCO says. Alongside President Carter, Steele co-founded InfantSEE, a public health program created to examine infants’ vision, regardless of the family’s ability to pay. More than 150,000 children have now received vision care through InfantSEE.
Over the course of 53 years, he’s witnessed firsthand the modern evolution of optometry, including the adoption of contact lenses, new screening technologies, and more, thus leading to his induction into the National Optometry Hall of Fame.
SOC will be hosting a retirement celebration to honor Steele next Tuesday, August 23. In addition to current campus members attending, dozens of alumni and past board members whose lives he’s touched over the years will also be present.
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Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!
Technology-driven two location private practice seeking associate, with opportunity for partnership (Read more)
Rosin Eyecare is seeking candidates for a full-time position in Woodstock, Illinois. ( Read more) |
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Illinois Launching Community Health Care Program for Seniors
SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) - Illinois senior citizens could have more convenient access to health care starting next summer. The Pritzker administration announced a new holistic care program Monday morning to provide an alternative for those who don’t want to live in nursing homes.
Gov. JB Pritzker and leaders from several state agencies launched the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly during Senior Day at the Illinois State Fair.
There are about 260,000 seniors in Illinois who rely on Medicare and Medicaid for their health care. Pritzker said his administration wants to make life easier for them.
The state’s new program puts a strong emphasis on innovative and comprehensive health care for seniors to stay comfortable in their community. Pritzker said seniors enrolling in the PACE program could receive personal care, individualized specialty care, therapy, medications, and mental health care among others.
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FDA Clears At-Home Visual Acuity Test
The FDA announced that it cleared the Visibly Digital Acuity Product, a web-based, self-guided software application for testing visual acuity at home.
The technology, which the FDA cleared Aug. 12, is intended for use by adults between 22 and 40 years old for evaluation with or without correction, the agency stated on its website.
The results obtained through the testing are meant to be “supportive recommendations” that an eye care provider will use in conjunction with the patient’s medical history and profile, prior corrective prescriptions and subjective vision data, according to the FDA.
“This device does not provide screening or diagnosis of eye health or other disease and does not replace an eye health exam with a licensed provider,” the agency stated.
Visibly, formerly known as Opternative, stated in a press release that its Visibly Digital Acuity Product (VDAP) is the first FDA-cleared online visual acuity test on the U.S. market.
“With their newly acquired 510(k) clearance from the FDA, Visibly’s telemedicine platform can continue to expand affordable access to vision care for millions of consumers,” Visibly stated in the release.
The company explained that the user can access the test, which can be completed in about 6 minutes, at any time through a combination of a touchscreen mobile device and computer.
“Completed vision test results are made available to eye care professionals immediately and securely, helping them evaluate the best course of action for each patient,” the company said.
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CDC Director Orders Agency Overhaul, Admitting Flawed Covid-19 Response
08/17/2022 12:01 PM EDT
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching an overhaul of its structure and operations in an attempt to modernize the agency and rehabilitate its reputation following intense criticism of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and, more recently, the growing monkeypox outbreak.
On Wednesday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky shared a series of changes with CDC leadership and staff designed to “transform” the organization and its work culture by improving how the agency shares information, develops public health guidance and communicates with the American public.
“For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations,” Walensky said in a statement. “As a long-time admirer of this agency and a champion for public health, I want us all to do better.”
The CDC restructuring follows two reviews conducted in recent months, one by Health Resources and Services Administration official Jim Macrae into the CDC’s pandemic response and another by CDC Chief of Staff Sherri Berger into agency operations.
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Tell Congress to Stop Medicare Pay Cuts Targeting ODs and Other Physicians
After lawmakers approved AOA-backed legislation late last year averting a series of Medicare pay cuts totaling nearly 10 percent, the AOA and other physician organizations are again working to prevent significant reimbursement cuts scheduled to take effect this year.
The AOA-backed measure signed into law in December prevented a 4% "pay-as-you-go (PAYGO)" cut until 2023, added a 3% pay increase to offset a 3.75 percent cut called for under the physician fee schedule, and delayed a 2% Medicare sequester cut for the first few months of 2022.
Now, without corrective legislative action to avert the cuts, ODs and other physicians face the potential for an additional double-digit reduction starting Jan. 1, 2023.
The AOA is urging lawmakers to take action now and making clear to lawmakers that simply preventing the cuts is not enough, with Medicare payments failing to keep up with medical inflation.
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THANK YOU TO OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS! |
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